This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
IN Queensland’s largest agricultural land sale for 2022, Peter and Jane Harris have paid a reported $380 million for Mark Menegazzo’s Gulf Coast Agricultural Co assets, including between 70,000 and 80,000 Brahman cattle.
The four large breeding and backgrounding grazing properties span more than 1,070 square kilometres in the Gulf region, and has capacity to run up to 100,000 head.
The walk-in walk-out deal includes the herd, extensive plant and equipment, and a six-seater Cessna Citation jet aircraft, according to Beef Central.
The properties include more than 90 kilometres of coastline from the Gilbert River north to the mouth of the Nassau River at the Gulf of Carpentaria.
At 590,500 hectares, Van Rook Station is the largest of the four, and one of the largest in Queensland. It was established in 1883, while is Dutch name is related to Willem Janszoon’s coastal exploration in the Duyfken in 1606. It is the base for most of Gulf Coast Agricultural’s staff and breeding cattle, and runs nearly 62,000 head.
Also established in 1883 was the 125,000-hectare Stirling Lotus Vale Station, originally Van Rook’s bullock block and separated from the main station by the Gilbert River. In 1991, it was annexed off and aggregated with the smaller Lotus Vale Station and now has a capacity of 19,600 head and fattens sale steers and runs the Brahman Stud.
Established in 1899, Inkerman Station is the second largest and most remote of the stations, spanning 280,000 hectares and bordered by the Nassau River to the north, the Staaten River to the south and the Gulf of Carpentaria to the west. It can run just over 12,000 breeder cows.
The 110,010-hectare Dorunda Station was established in 1885 and runs between 2,500 and 3,000 breeders. It features a 20 kilometre-long permanent freshwater lake.
Peter and Jane Harris operate an irrigated cropping and cotton enterprise based out of Miralwyn Cotton at Carinda in north western NSW. Also among their holdings are Brewon Station and the Glen Acre Aggregation at Walgett, Rumleigh Station at Brewarrina, Clyde Cotton at Bourke, Moomin Station at Moree, and a mixed grazing operation near Dirranbandi in southern Queensland.
The record price paid for a single pastoral holding remains the $180 million-plus paid by Peter and Jane Hughes last year for the 438,000 hectare Miranda Downs in the Gulf of Carpentaria region.
